Invasion of U.S. West Coast
Background With the Allied Pacific Fleet smashed, the Black Tortoise and its attendant fleet continued its course to North America. Every Allied bombing run on it failed to even slow it down. Japanese poets called it the Rage of the Black Tortoise. Emperor Yoshiro ordered that the Black Tortoise and its men should first make landfall at Santa Monica. His word alone was enough for this to be so, but Yoshiro had several reasons for Santa Monica. Los Angeles was a sign of gaijin degeneracy beyond anything else, awash with poverty and decadence, and cleansing it would be a divine act. Los Angeles was also home to Little Tokyo, ensuring a proper cultural home for Imperial officers. A more pragmatic reason was that the Los Angeles basin was one of the largest oil fields on the continent, which the Rising Sun was always in need of. A major reason was that Santa Monica was close to several media centres, such as movie studios, TV stations, and software developers. Yoshiro believed with the right prodding, the American people would quickly bow to Imperial will. To that end, he sent his Imperial Propaganda Corps to take the media centres when the battle was over. The lack of a sizable navy in Los Angeles meant the naval assets of the Black Tortoise could be diverted elsewhere. The Naginata Cruiser squadrons steamed north to blockade the battered Allied Pacific fleet at their anchor in San Francisco bay, thought kept away from the city itself by Grand Cannons guarding alongside Golden Gate Bridge. The Yari Mini-Sub squadrons were dispersed along the entire coast to disrupt and distract Allied efforts. Yari incidents were reported as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Ensenada, with at least 3 ships confirmed sunk. Only one squadron stayed with the Black Tortoise, and was only used for surveying coasts without seeing any combat. Force Composition Imperial Military Shoguns Naomi Shirada and Shiro Kamina were commanding from the Black Tortoise itself. The Emperor spared no expense in making sure they were the best-equipped invasion force possible. Each got a full mechanised division and an MCV. To further support them, mecha and tank battalions were attached, as well as a division of infantry. The Black Tortoise itself was fully capable of shore bombardment. As the crowning jewel of the expedition, six Wave-Force Artillery vehicles were gifted to the two commanders. The Imperial Propaganda corps, led by Akira Kurosawa, was a non-military organization of artists, media executives, and government officials charged with keeping the Japanese people well moralized and pure of thought. Los Angeles was their first attempt to reform the foreigner’s actions. Allied Forces The first line of defence for Los Angeles was the 40th Infantry Division, based in Los Alimitos Joint Forces Training Base, commanded by Colonel Matthew E. Hewitt. Its composition was mostly Defenders and Rocket Defenders, with a number of Rangers as support. Several Infantry Divisions were moved to the West Los Angeles National Guard Depot and the National Guard Recruitment Depot. Hewitt himself stayed in Los Alimitos Joint Forces Training Base. Los Angeles itself also had several Athena satellite spotters to protect the harbour, as well as the local Coast Guard Hydrofoils. Due to the value and position of California, its Air National Guard was better equipped than many national air guards. The 144th Fighter Squadron based in Fresno had state of the art Apollos instead of the usual Hawkers. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in El Toro Air Base had most of its planes overseas; all that was left was a few flights of Hawkers, and these were disabled by an earlier Shinobi infiltration shortly before the Black Tortoise steamed into effective range. The 3rd Peacekeeper Division was based in Bakersfield with the ability to defend either Los Angeles or San Francisco. It answered to the 2nd Allied Army based in Colorado Springs, which was tasked with defending the entire North America continent. The 3rd Division had already embarked on Century bombers and civilian aircraft to quickly deploy into Los Angeles. Like all Peacekeeper detachments, it was a flexible mix of infantry, armour, and aircraft. It was commanded by General Spencer Johnson, who commanded from an AWACS high above the battle. Tanya Adams promised to come as quickly as she could to help. California Governor Robert Finch had his staff find an old Top Secret portfolio President McCarthy sent his predecessor during WWII, which was to be opened if California itself was being invaded. Man the Pacific Palisades Immediately, Athena Satellites started to bombard the Black Tortoise as she approached the coast, but her wave-force tri-cannons silenced the spotters guiding the solar beams. With very minimal damage to the fortress done, the Black Tortoise then began to bombard Santa Monica itself, razing every building from the shore to its maximum range. Though most civilians had already fled when the foreboding fortress appeared on the horizon, the National Guard and LAPD hurriedly evacuated whoever was left behind before they were disintegrated. Meanwhile, Special Agent Tanya had flown in a Century from Fort Bradley and parachuted directly into the city. She “requisitioned” a civilian car and drove to the nearest TV station. Hijacking an emergency broadcast signal, she broadcasted a promise to the Black Tortoise that America wouldn’t be easy to conquer. Ignoring the boasts, the 1st and 5th Mechanized battalions, commanded by Kamina and Naomi respectively, made landfall with Sudden Transports, along with their attendant MCVs. The 1st landed south in Marina Del Ray, while the 5th landed in Santa Monica itself. The MCVs proceeded to construct a supply depot for each division as they pressed on, the 3rd Armoured quickly joining them. Shogun Kamina’s first objective was to seize the Coast Guard hydrofoils in Marine Del Ray before they could launch and contest the landings. Using the headquarters of Electronic Arts as a point of reference, the Coast Guard station was quickly found and destroyed. Battlefield, 90210 Naomi in the meantime had plunged all the way to Beverly Hills with little except LAPD resistance until the California National Guard fully deployed. A few missiles streaked out from buildings, destroying the lead Transports. Though not a great threat, Naomi then decided to stop the advance to disembark her troops fully and engage in urban combat. The National Guard attacked too late to prevent the capture of the West Los Angeles National Guard Depot, the first point of defence for Los Angeles. Tanya Adams had unholstered her pistols and was sweeping through the city, killing any Imperial soldier she saw. Actors Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, and Steve McQueen joined her in this effort. Though many brave warriors were killed, they could not stem the tide. However, it was a real boost to Allied morale, as well as an image that that graced many posters. Help, however, was on the way. The National Guard was reinforced by the 3rd Peacekeeper division, which was using Los Angeles Airport (LAX) as a staging area. A Guardian tank column ripped into the 1st Mechanised’s unsuspecting flank, followed by infantry support. Much like the 5th, the 1st became bogged down in urban combat. The 1st received new orders; instead of advancing on Culver City, they were to swing south to secure LAX. As it was heavily defended, trickery would be needed to stem the Peacekeeper reinforcements. But before that, something incredulous happened. Secret codes and orders were flown from Sacramento to General Spencer Johnson. Soon, Griffith Observatory creaked open, revealing an old and obsolete but still quite dangerous Grand Cannon. Originally constructed during the dark days of WWII, the Griffith Firebase still posed a threat to invaders. SAM emplacements nearby prevented any aerial assaults. With a mighty thump, it shot in the general direction of the Empire forced, missing completely. In fact, very few shells hit anywhere near the Imperial forces, but the impacts pinned down the 5th Division. More effective were Spectrum Towers hidden in billboards, which prevented major throughways from being used by the invaders. Almost at the same time, the 144th Fighter and the 84th Fighter Groups finally arrived to intercept Chopper-VXes supporting ground operations. Jet Tengus streaked off the Black Tortoise to intercept, and the two sides engaged in a dogfight in the sky above Los Angeles, neither affecting the battle much further. Ignoring the shells and interceptors, Kamina put a cunning plan into motion. Disguising a Sudden Transport as an airport utility vehicle, Imperial Engineer Osada snuck into LAX through the Peacekeepers cordon. Quickly disembarking into the control tower, he took the place of an air traffic controller who had gone to the bathroom. All the other air traffic controllers were too busy rerouting civilian planes away from LA, and coordinating military planes that were landing, to notice the very Japanese man plugging in his odd machine into the computers. Osada subtly changed the flight plans of all planes, landing civilian plane at LAX to take up runways, while diverting military planes away. Peacekeepers expecting to jump directly into the furball were instead surprised to find themselves in McCarran International in Las Vegas, hours away from the combat. Onboard the Black Tortoise, both shoguns received a curious order from the Emperor himself. Offended that Pacific Park was a crass imitation of his favourite amusement park, he commanded that it be destroyed. A flight of Chopper-VXes risked being shot down to fly there, and after a few minutes of missile fire, the empty park was demolished. Worries shared by both sides that Disneyland was to receive a similar fate was abated when Prince Tatsu expressed an interest in visiting it. After several long hours, the 7th Infantry as well as the artillery detachment finally was able to disembark the Black Tortoise; the only transports available were larger, slower versions of the Sudden Transport. Massively reinforced, the 1st and 5th finally began to break through, thanks to the Wave-Force Artillery devastating rows and rows buildings and Spectrum Towers. The 1st attacked LAX, prompting all planes to stop landing, as well as destroying the Apollos refuelling there. Imperial Warriors were greeted with Osada bowing from the tower. As the 5th was still pinned down from the Grand Cannon fire, it was up to Kamina to swing north and enter Los Angeles proper. City of Angels The remaining organized resistance in the city was based around the National Guard Recruitment Depot in Los Angeles. 1st Battalion remounted and proceeded full speed through Inglewood, leaving the 7th Infantry to mop up the scattered Peacekeepers throughout the metropolitan area. Brutal fighting flared up all along downtown LA, with civilians often caught up in between the two sides. Kamina's advance looked stalled, but aerial superiority was being established in the air, allowing mecha to fly in and land to support infantry. On the northern front, Naomi could not risk any more of her men being obliterated by the Grand Cannon. She banked on a squad of Tankbusters hiking into the mountains to dismantle it. Since she had sent them in as soon as their relative safety could be assured, they had arrived finally at the right moment. Quickly melting the old observatory and cannon, they collapsed into an exhausted heap and got a fine view of 5th Battalion swarming into LA. Though resistance was determined, 40th division simply lacked the men and equipment to last against the full Black Tortoise Task Force. Unconfirmed reports state the building was completely obliterated by six Wave-Force beams at once. Only a few Defenders were left to surrender. The National Guard Recruitment Depot lasted only minutes. The Imperial Propaganda Corps, meanwhile, had been given free range of the city. Though each engineer required escort, as Attack Dogs had been released with the scent of well-starched Japanese suits as their target, they quickly took over every movie studio, radio and TV station in LA, and began to broadcast prepared propaganda in the LA basin and all of North America. Unfortunately, the Imperial Propaganda Corps assumed Allied citizens were as orderly and traditional as they were, and acted like merely saying something with conviction was enough to lower morale. Ignorance of Allied popular culture was also a hindrance. As fighting died down in the city, the Japanese began consolidating their conquests. Kamina ordered the soldiers to requisition autographs of movie stars as a favour to an intelligence officer. Naomi took her luxury Tanuki and drove to LA City Hall. In front of the historic building, the American flag was torn down, and replaced by the Japanese flag. Mayor Samuel W. Yorty and his staff were forced to bow to it. Los Angeles was now Imperial territory. Aftermath The Imperial forces could not hope for a breakout, despite the reinforcements that poured into the city in the weeks following its capture. The San Gabriel Mountains blocked any northern advance. The California National Guard were quick to fortify Pomona and preventing any advance into San Bernardino. Meanwhile, Long Beach and Orange County were massively reinforced by the recently arrival of the 11th Peacekeeper Division, sent to protect strategically vital industries like Norwell-Hucks. Orange County was also defended by 3rd Armadura Ligera, composed of Beagles and Rangers, which had left from Tijuana as soon as the Black Tortoise had been spotted, as well as the 1st Marine Division from Camp Pendleton. On the other side, the Imperial forces were too well dug in to expel via a direct assault, as several American forces soon found out at high cost, while the Black Tortoise made it impossible to cut them off from resupply. However, the Allies eventually concluded that the Japanese forces were thoroughly contained and unlikely to pose any further threat, and decided that retaking Los Angeles was not important enough to warrant diverting the necessary amount of troops from the European front. The city was in for a long occupation. The effects of this battle were devastating. Not since 1916 had any foreign troops dared to invade the continental United States, but here was the second largest city in America in enemy hands. The damage to the city was inconsequential (Los Angeles lowly thought of by the rest of the nation) but the invasion itself drastically lowered American morale. Beyond that, while the decision to let Los Angeles remain in the hands of the Imperial occupiers and prioritise the European theatre, while possibly making sense from a purely military viewpoint, did not sit well with the American populace, and likely was one of many contributing factors that drove so many Americans to join the Confederate rebellion after the war. The propaganda attempt failed spectacularly. Allied citizens in America, Canada, and Mexico were used to a free press, and easily saw through the claims boasted. The entire effort became a laughingstock when the Japanese claimed that Fred Flintstone was making love to Peacekeeper's wives. Los Angeles was a base of operations for the Empire, but they held their ground instead of invading further inside the USA. Instead, they rebuilt the city as a Tokyo on the American continent. However, they handed Los Angeles back over to the United States when they made peace with the Allies. Today, Los Angeles has a population comprised roughly of 25% Japanese. Category:Battles